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How to create effective email marketing campaigns

August 25th, 2010

Successful email marketing campaigns have two outcomes:

1. Email marketing gets people to buy your product or service.

2. Email marketing develops relationships.

However, in order to achieve both of those there are some basic rules to observe when you’re creating your email marketing campaigns.

Rule 1: Know your target audience. What do they want? How can you help them? Write what they want to know.

Rule 2: Get your subject line right – it must be strong enough for people to want to open it, so not cheesy, not salesy – but definitely intriguing or compelling.

Rule 3: Make sure you’re using a good system that gets the salutation right; don’t use my full name – if you can’t organise for it to say ‘Dear Joe’, then leave the salutation out altogether.

Rule 4: A single email doesn’t work, a good email marketing campaign has a series of at least three and up to five or six. However, each email should stand alone, you don’t know whether they’ve read the one before so any references to former emails can simply irritate and get this one deleted too.

Rule 5: Each email marketing series should focus on one product/service. Don’t try to present more than one subject or you’ll confuse your reader – if they read only one they’ll get the message; if they read more than one you’ll reinforce the message.

Rule 6: Use stories and examples to gain reader engagement and support them with data and statistics. Always end with a call to action – tell them what to do next e.g. ‘Visit our website’; ‘Call us now on …’. Make sure the means to take action are right where you’re asking so link to website, phone number spelled out.

Rule 7: Make sure you’re using a clean list – with permission – or you’ll be ruining your reputation.

Good luck with your next email marketing campaign!
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14 Twitter tips

August 10th, 2010

If you ever wonder what to post on Twitter – here are 14 ideas to get you started.

1. Share your knowledge and demonstrate your expertise; give us tips that we can use.

2. Tell us what you’re doing, not having lunch, but the latest project you’ve completed let us know what you can do.

3. Let people know if you’ve landed a new contract and celebrate!

4. Answer other people’s questions or offer to have a ‘clinic’ for a specified period of time.

5. Post testimonials you’ve received – the important bit is the results the client experienced.

6. Retweet Tweets you find interesting, amusing, useful to your followers. Never RT anything you haven’t checked out (links).

7. Get into conversation, respond to other people’s tweets, it shouldn’t be a one way street.

8. Recommend good books, films, websites, services and products – and why you think they’re good.

9. Share interesting articles, blogs, videos and pictures (shrink links) and tell us why they’re interesting.

10. Ask questions and get the Twitter community to help you on your journey of discovery!

11. Give testimonials to other Twitterfolk. Let the world know when you’ve had great service or a brilliant outcome.

12. Post your blog links so people know what you’re talking about.

13. Promote your courses, new ventures, products – but not too often and don’t just post a sales pitch.

14. Be human! Whilst we might not want to know what you’re eating, sharing triumphs and disasters is fun.

Remember, people won’t listen if all you do is talk, get involved, engage with people and your followers will increase.
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13 tips for successful newsletter

August 3rd, 2010

Good newsletters are great; but very few newsletters are really good. Most are average and many are a not very well disguised sales pitch. Newsletters are marketing tools and writing for the reader is the key to success.

Here are my thoughts on newsletters – check your own newsletter out against these and I guarantee it will get better.

  • If you’re expecting your newsletter to work as a sales tool you’ll be disappointed; they’re for relationship marketing.
  • Don’t expect people to sign up for a newsletter, we all get too many of them, offer them a free tips sheet or report to get sign ups.
  • People get lots of newsletters, to get yours read it must be consistently good value for the reader, the primary focus should be useful info, not a sales pitch.
  • The subject line of a newsletter must make your reader curious or interested enough to open it, ‘Acme Widgets newsletter August 2010′ won’t do the job!
  • Every issue must be good enough to get people to open the next one, so every issue needs to be consistently brilliant! The best newsletters share information that helps the reader.
  • ‘Read more’ items often don’t get clicked through; short, concise and great value is the key to success, unless you are very good at dangling an irresistible ‘carrot’ in each introductory paragraph.
  • One nugget of information is worth far more than lots of bits of trivia. A newsletter is an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge. A single article with really useful information will get your newsletter opened and read next time too.
  • If your newsletter will be read online, stick to a single column presentation, two columns are hard work for the reader as they have to scroll up and down – however, a narrower right hand column with ‘News headlines’ or ‘Special offer’ buttons can work.
  • Tips style newsletters work. Share your knowledge in bullet point tips – this works well for busy and impatient readers.
  • Ask your readers what they want in a newsletter, don’t assume you know. Use their responses to create a newsletter that they will want to read.
  • Read other people’s newsletters and identify what it is that you like – and hate – about them. Ask other people which newsletters they read regularly and what they like about them.
  • Post the main article from your newsletter on your blog, split it into tips on Twitter, and save it for the book you’ll write!
  • Instead of sending a newsletter out every month, send a list of the blogs you’ve written with hyperlinks to each one.

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    7 top tips for creating ads that work

    July 13th, 2010

    Advertising costs money – so why is it that so many people waste their money by creating ads that are ineffective, boring, and don’t have any focus? Before agreeing to advertise, whether it’s in a publication, online or in the broadcast media, think carefully about what you want the ad to do for you. If you don’t have focus, neither will your ad!

    Here is a selection of tips that will help you to sharpen your focus:

    1. Every ad needs an attention grabbing statement whether written or broadcast. It’s the ‘headline’ that tells people it’s worth exploring further.

    2. What do you want people to do when they’ve read or listened to your ad? What do they need to know to want to do it? Don’t put unnecessary information in – make sure that every word and picture earns its space.

    3. How influential is your brand? If you’re not a nationally known name, it might not need to be very big. If you have a well-known brand it may influence people to read more or even to buy, if you’re not known, your brand won’t help you and takes up valuable (and expensive) space.

    4. It may seem ridiculous to say this, but don’t forget to include a means of contacting you and your web address. It’s surprising how many people forget to add a phone/email contact. The web address on its own just means people have to work harder than necessary to get in touch; they may not bother.

    5. People will sometimes want to check you out so, if you want people to be impressed when they visit your website, make sure that the image is consistent with what is in the ad. Also make sure that the site is sticky and engages people when they get there. It’s no good investing all that money in an ad when people get to your website and don’t understand what you’re trying to tell them – or can’t see anything useful. They’ll just leave.

    6. If you’ve got pictures in your ad, put them to the right and the copy to the left. We read from left to right and generally scan pictures from top to bottom, so pictures that have a message on their right often prevent people from reading it, they just scan down and carry on underneath the picture. Getting the layout right improves your chances of the ad being read.

    7. When including testimonials ONLY use the power statement, not the whole thing. The power statement is the bit that tells people what the customer got that made a difference, the information about how nice and friendly your team were doesn’t work anywhere near as well.
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    7 secrets to getting people to read your copy

    July 8th, 2010

    The hot shot ad agency types will tell you it’s about something gimmicky, shocking or what’s hot today. They’re only partly right. There are many reasons people ‘get it’ – and plenty of obstacles that stop them getting it! Here are 7 tips that will help your copy to be read:

    1. I don’t want to know what you do, I want to know what I get so write about what’s in it for ME (your reader).

    2. If you give me lots to read I might not bother, keep paragraphs and sentences short and to the point.

    3. When you start writing you MUST know why people buy you and tell your readers that’s what they get.

    4. Most people don’t read online, they scan, so put easy-to-read devices like bullets and subheads to help them get your message – and whilst people tend to read more from paper, it’s a good way to draw their attention to the key points.

    5. What do people REALLY want to know? Not lots of detail. Tell them what they want, not what you want to say.

    6. What do you want people to do when they’ve read your message? Don’t forget a call to action.

    7. Don’t make people work hard; tell them what to do and make it easy for them to do (i.e. make the words a link) or put the phone number right there (don’t expect them to search around for it).

    There are many more reasons people stop reading – but just getting these right will make a real difference.

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    7 things you should know about headlines!

    July 4th, 2010

    I’ve been banging on about headlines a lot lately – so I might as well continue the trend here!

    Most people think a headline is something found in a newspaper or magazine – but headlines should be on every written communication you create. That includes:

  • Your website
  • Your emails (the subject line)
  • Your flyers (on the front, if they open; at the top if they’re a single sheet)
  • Your presentations
  • Your newsletters

    • The job of the headline is to engage the reader – it should shout ‘read me’! It gets attention and creates interest. Here are 7 things to think about when you’re writing headlines.

    1. Where does your headline sit? Is it right where your reader is looking? It should be prominent and where the eye connects.

    2. Who does your headline target? Are they ‘we’ or ‘you’ focused? Banish the word ‘we’ from headlines!

    3. Do they tell your reader ‘you need to read this’? They need to target your readers’ emotional triggers.

    4. Do you know why people buy you? Find out and use that HUGE lever to get others to want what you’ve got too!

    5. Are your headlines F, A or B oriented? F=features; A=advantages; B=benefits. Know your Bs and use them well.

    6. Do your headlines address AIDA? A=attention; I=interest; D=desire; A=action. D is really important – make people want it.

    7. How long does it take you to write a headline? Sales writer, Ted Nicholas, says you should spend 80% of your time getting the headline right! Invest in it; if people don’t connect with the headline, they won’t read any more.

    Think about how you want people to feel and put that into your headlines and you’ll be on the way to writing powerful, compelling messages.
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    How well-connected are you?

    June 28th, 2010

    When you present your business in writing there are a few critical things to remember:

  • Firstly, how good is your website at keeping visitors?
  • Secondly, how consistent is your message on the website, on social media, on your blog, in your articles, in your newsletter – and anywhere else you have written information about your products or services?
  • Thirdly, how well-connected are you? That doesn’t mean you are close friends with the rich and famous – but how all your online written communications work together.

    • Whatever else you do your website is usually the place people go to follow up or check you out. It needs to connect with people quickly and to be easy to navigate in order to keep people interested for long enough to get them to take action.

    If you’ve got obstacles in their way, some of them will leave. So your website needs to be usable and readable.

    If you’ve got a strong message it needs to be on everything you publish. You need to be consistent, clear and concise.

    Finally, use your social networks, Twitter and your lists (you have got a list, haven’t you) to keep in touch.
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    Get your web copy to keep people reading

    June 8th, 2010

    When you’ve gone to the trouble of getting a website set up,invested your money in it and probably gone through a certain amount of pain to create the web copy that goes on each page, you want people to stay on it and take action to either buy something or to contact you.

    The problem with many websites is that, whilst they may look attractive, they don’t keep people on the site. I’ve had many clients who say “My site is on the first page of Google, I get lots of visitors, but I’m not getting many people contact me.”

    So what’s the problem? It’s usually because the web copy doesn’t hold them – and that can be for two reasons:

    1. The web copy isn’t good enough and doesn’t interest them. It doesn’t connect with them quickly and doesn’t tell them what they wanted to know.

    2. The way the web copy is presented to the reader isn’t easy for them to read. The message may be in the wrong place, the wrong size of font or presented in a way that makes the eyes work very hard to read the words.

    The solution to problem one is to work with a web copywriter who really understands the web and how people use it. There are plenty of good copywriters out there, but not all of them really write web copy that connects with the reader.

    The solution to problem two is harder to resolve. Very, very few designers have studied web readability. The design and the words must work together and understanding HOW people read, especially web copy, is critical.

    Download the report on readability and send it to your web designer or consultant – or ask them to talk to me, I’m always happy to help people to improve websites so that visitors stay put!
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    Does your web copy walk the line?

    May 24th, 2010

    Web users are lazy and impatient – think of yourself when you’re waiting for a site to download that takes a few seconds longer than you expect! That means that web copy needs to get the message across FAST.

    The very first thing that your web visitor will look at is the headline – it needs to reassure the website visitor that the site will deliver the information they were looking for. If it doesn’t (or it’s hard to find) they’re gone!

    Then there’s the web copy that you want to get your reader engaged – and this where the ‘line’ appears. Do you write creative copy that gets the reader involved and ‘draws the picture’ of what it could be like for them to own your product or experience your services? Or do you write focused, sharp copy that tells them the facts and gets to the point quickly and clearly?

    What a dilemma – what sort of web copy works best? There’s a case for both – and there’s some other issues that need to be taken into account; people read headlines, but don’t read all the copy – they scan it. That means you have to be very clever with your web copy.

    The formula I use is to:

  • Talk about the problems that people are experiencing (relating to the service/product – or to be more accurate, the absence of it).
  • Reassure them that there is a solution.
  • Outline what the product or service does (the features) – and extend that into what it will be like to have that in place (the benefits).
  • Provide a call to action and a link to the page you want them to go to next, or the number or email you want them to contact you on right in the web copy (don’t expect them to search for information, remember the first line of this blog).

    • Taking into account that they’ll be scanning through this, draw their attention to key words. This may not be the ones they’ve searched on necessarily, but the ones that are emotionally charged, for instance in an ad for garden design:

    You can add a room to your home by turning your garden into an area you use more and get more pleasure with less effort.

    or

    When the sun shines do you look at your garden and wish you could sit out and enjoy it instead of slaving over a mountain of weeds? A good design can take the work away and create a garden you can enjoy.

    If you’re scanning down the web copy – the bold words stand out and your core message is clear. You can make your web copy walk the line if you’re smart – just don’t overdo it.

    It doesn’t only work on web copy; it works on your paper documents too!
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    Have you optimised your website for lazy users?

    May 4th, 2010

    Usability is about how easy your site is for people to get around, find what they want, get from a to b with the least effort.

    Typical web users are lazy – and impatient! That means you and me too. I’m not trying to be insulting, but think about it:

    When you’re waiting for a website to download, how many seconds is it before you start tapping your fingers in impatience and sighing a lot? What’s your opinion of that website’s usability?

    When you’re faced with a website that you don’t get to work the first time you try something, how much effort are you prepared to put in to work out how the website owner wants you to behave? Do you think they’ve considered usability?

    No, I didn’t think so!

    So, what about your own website – how does it measure up for usability?

    How much effort do people have to put into understand what the website will deliver?

    How fast do they get your message?

    Is the headline right where they’re looking?

    Is the menu where they expect it to be?

    Is the column width comfortable for reading?

    Are the paragraphs short and easy to read?

    Does it deliver the message that they want (not the one you think they should have)?

    When you ask them to take action, how easy do you make it for them to do so? E.g. is the phone number right next to the ‘call us’ instruction? Is the explore our services now a link or do they have to scroll back up to the menu?

    Usability affects every aspect of a website from the look, to the position, to the message and information on offer. Check yours out; poor usability sends your visitors running for an easier to use website – and they don’t come back!
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